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Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Hofstra Basketball
91
Hofstra HOFSTRA (20-13)
92
Winner William & Mary WM (20-11)
Hofstra HOFSTRA
(20-13)
91
Final
92
William & Mary WM
(20-11)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Hofstra HOFSTRA 32 41 10 8 91
William & Mary WM 35 38 10 9 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By Brian Bohl

MBB: Hofstra Drops Heartbreaking Double Overtime Game To William & Mary In CAA Semifinals

Baltimore  – Junior guard Juan'ya Green had 26 points and graduate guard Dion Nesmith added 21 points, but the duo of Marcus Thornton (37 points) and Omar Prewitt (33) led William & Mary past Hofstra, 92-91, on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship at the Royal Farms Arena.

The loss dropped fifth-seeded Hofstra's record to 20-13 this season, while top-seeded William & Mary moved on to the CAA title game with a 20-11 record. The game was the Pride's first overtime contest of the season and marked the first double overtime game in CAA Tournament play since Hofstra dropped a 74-71 decision to Northeastern in 2010. Hofstra was seeking its first title game appearance since facing UNCW in the 2006 championship game.
 
Daniel Dixon hit a left-corner three-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in the second overtime for the game-winning basket. Green had buried a three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining to give Hofstra a one-point lead. Hofstra got the defensive stop it was looking for when Thornton, who was named the CAA Player of the Year earlier in the week, missed a jumper and senior Moussa Kone grabbed the rebound. Kone made the second of his two free throws for a 91-89 Hofstra lead with eight seconds left.
 
But Thornton set up William & Mary's last shot by dribbling down the court. With no timeouts remaining, he found Dixon deep in the corner. Following the basket, Hofstra tried to heave a last-chance pass down court but could not get a shot attempt off. The second overtime featured two tied scores and three lead changes, which continued the game-wide trend of 12 lead changes overall.

Brian Bernardi scored 17 points for Hofstra and made five three-pointers as four Hofstra players finished in double figures. Thornton and Prewitt combined for 70 of the Tribe's 92 total points and teamed for nine total three-pointers.

The back-and-forth nature of the contest started early when the Tribe built a 21-11 advantage following Thornton's jumper before Hofstra mounted a huge run. Rokas Gustys hit two straight shots to energize Hofstra and kick-start a 15-1 run that turned a 10-point deficit into a four-point Pride lead following Gustys' dunk with 5:32 left in the opening half.

Thornton would heat up at that point for William & Mary as he hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to give the Tribe a 34-29 lead. Green, who shot 7-for-18 from the field overall, made a three-pointer to end the 9-0 Tribe run and help Hofstra go into halftime trailing by just 35-32.

William & Mary rallied and established a 47-40 lead following Prewitt's three-pointer with 14:21 left in the second half. In a game of runs, Hofstra made another challenge by scoring eight straight points to retake the lead at 48-47 after a driving Nesmith layup with 11:36 showing on the clock.

Hofstra would add to the run as a pair of Kone free throws that culminated a 13-0 Pride run that gave the Pride a 53-47 lead with 9:44 left in the second half.

The Pride would heat up from the outside as the game winded down as Bernardi knocked down a pair of long-range shots and Nesmith also hit a three-pointer to push the Hofstra lead 66-57 with 6:14 left in the instant classic.

Hofstra pushed the lead to as many as nine before the Tribe scored five straight, including a Prewitt three-pointer with 3:58 left in regulation, to close to within 68-64 heading into the final media timeout of the game with 3:19 to play.

With Hofstra holding a five-point lead with under a minute to play in regulation, Thornton would tie the score at 73 with a personal 5-0 scoring run to send the game into the first overtime.

The Tribe would score the first five points of the extra session before Hofstra answered with a seven straight points and led 80-78 after a Bernardi three-pointer with 2:01 left. The game would be knotted at 80 with 1:26 remaining before a clutch three-pointer from Green gave Hofstra back the lead at 83-80. As he did all game, Thornton answered once again with a game-tying three-pointer with 42 ticks left in the first overtime to send the game to a second overtime session.

The CAA Championship game will air on the NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m. on Monday.
 
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